CHAPTER 2 : THE ARTIST’S MEDIUM
painting the major effects of which are caused by
 Medium
 Latin word: medium which denotes the means by
which an artist communicate his idea.
 Material which are used by an artist to interpret his
feelings ot thought.
On the basis of medium, arts are classified as:
1. Visual arts - medium can be seen or and which
occupy space
A. Dimensional or two-dimentional arts.
B. Three-dimentional arts.
2. Auditory - mediums can be heard and which are
expresed in time. MUSIC & LITERATURE
3. Combined arts - mediums can be both seen & heard,
and which exist in both space & time.
DANCE,OPERA,DRAMA, FILM.
 Technique
 the manner in which the artist controls his medium
to achieve the desired effect.
 The ability with which the artist fulfills the
technical requirements of his particular work of
art.
 The way the artist manipulates his medium to
express his idea.
THE ARTIST AND HIS MEDIUM
 the artist believes that his choice of particular
medium can best express the idea he wants to
convey.
 At times, an artist employ more than one medium.
 Selecting medium depends entirely on the artist
himself that can be handled with ease, best suit his
plan, adequately bring out the qualities he wants to
show.
 The artist must love, respect, and understand his
medium to make it easier for him to expand his
knowledge and improve his skill in his chosen area.
 The distinctive character of the medium determines
the way it can be worked on and turned into a work
of art.
 The nature of each medium determines how a work
of art may be realized.
 Each medium has its own characteristics.
THE ARTIST AND HIS TECHNIQUE
1. PAINTING
 The art of creating meaningful effects on a flat
surface by the use of pigments
 Each medium (1) exerts a pronounced effect on the
finished product; (2) is capable of varied treatment:
and (3) determines its own stroke. These mediums
are applied to wet plaster, canvas, wood, or paper.
 Watercolor
 difficult to handle because producing warm and rich
tones
 watercolor pigments invite brilliance on a variety of
hues.
 Simple and clear spontaneity
 changes may be made once the paint has been
applied. changes normally tend to make the color
less luminous.
 Technique is gouache = an opaque watercolor
the white paper itself.
 gouache is done by mixing zinc white with the
regular watercolor paints to tone them down, giving
the appearance of sobriety suitable for dramatic
purposes.
 Fresco
 painting method done on a moist plaster surface
 Must be done quickly.
 An example of fresco painting is Michaelangelo's
The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
 Tempera
 mineral pigments mixed with egg yolk or egg white
and ore
 characterized by its film-forming properties and
rapid drying rate.
 It requires a more deliberate technique than oil
because it does not possess the flexibility of oil.
 Middle Ages and early Renaissance, tempera was
one of the favorite mediums of many painters
before oil was adopted.
 Tempera painting is usually done on wooden panel
made very smooth with plaster called "gesso"
(chalk and gum). Since this medium dries quickly,
corrections are difficult to make.
 advantage = luminous tone-the color being clear
and beautiful.
 Pastle
 stick of dried paste made of pigment ground with
thak and compounded with gum water.
 It is a very flexible medium whose colors are
luminous
 pastels are less popular than the other mediums
because it is difficult to present the finished product
in its original state.
 Encaustic
 early mediums used by the Egyptians for painting
portraits on mummy cases.
 done by applying wax colors fixed with heat.
 Oil
 the most expensive
 heaviest of the painting mediums.
 pigments are mixed with linseed oil and applied to
the canvas.
 One good quality of oil paint as a medium is its
flexibility. The artist may use a brush, palette knife,
or even his bare hands when applying paint on his
canvas.
 slowly and the painting may be changed and
worked over for a long period of time.
 possible to apply a great deal of corrections without
much difficulty.
 Painting done in oil appears glossy and lasts long.
 Acrylic
 used popularly by contemporary painters because
of the transparency and quick-drying characteristics
of watercolor and the flexibility of oil combined.
 This synthetic paint is mixed with acrylic emulsion
as binder for coating the surface of the artwork.
 Acrylic paints do not tend to break easily, unlike oil
paints which turn yellowish or darker over a period
of time.
 Mosaic
 art of putting together small pieces of colored
stones or glass called "tessera" to create an image.
 Mosaic art is an important feature of Byzantine
churches
 Stained glass
 common in Gothic cathedrals and churches.
 It is made by combining small pieces of colored
glass, held together by bands of lead . a kind
patchwork.
 he pictures in the stained glass commonly depict
the lives of saints and in effect, also serve as a
means of religious instruction among Christians.
 Tapestry
 fabric produced by han d-weaving colored threads
upon a warp.
 During the Middle Ages, they were hung on the
walls of palaces and in cathedrals on festive
occasions to provide warmth.
2. DRAWING
- Drawing is done in paper using pencil, pen and ink, or
charcoal.
- most fundamental of all skills necessary in arts.
- considered as a very good training for artists because
it makes one concentrate on the use of line.
- Shading can also be used to make drawings more life-
like and realistic.
- Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519).
 Pencils (graphite) are graded in different degrees
of hardness or softness. Grades are chosen
depending on the kind of drawing the artist will
undertake. For linework, hard pencil lead is applied.
- When working on a granular surface, soft pencils are
used because they invite effects of mass and a texture
of gray.
 Ink, one of the oldest mediums still in use, offers a
great variety of qualities, depending on the tools
and techniques used in application.
 Charcoal is a carbonaceous material obtained by
heating wood or other organic substances in the
absence of oxygen. It is used in representing broad
masses of light and shadow.
- Soft charcoal = darkest value, hardest = lightest tone.
 Bistre
- brown pigment extracted from the soot of wood, and
often used in pen and wash drawings.
 Crayons
- Pigments bound by wax and compressed into painted
sticks used for drawing.
- Popular among children in the elementary grades.
- better on paper surface.
 Silverpoint
- To produce a silverpoint artwork, the artist uses a silver
stylus to produce a thin grayish on specially prepared
paper.
- Popular during the Renaissance period.
3. PRINTMAKING
- anything printed on a surface that is a direct result from
the duplication process.
- The painting or graphic image, usually done in black
ink on white paper, becomes the artist’s plate.
- One of the advantages of printmaking is the ease with
which one can make multiple copies of the original
drawing.
4. LITHOGRAPHY
- surface printing done from an almost smooth surface
which has been treated chemically or mechanically so
that some surface areas will print and others will not.
- Lithographic painting, known as planographic
process, involves the process in which grease repels
water and fatty substances stick to each other.
- The artist draws his design using a greasy crayon of
pencil on a slab of special limestone or a zinc plate. The
drawing is then fixed with an acid solution. Afterwards, a
greasy ink is spread all over the surface area with a
roller.
- A print can then be made by pressing any piece of
paper on the plate.
5. SCULPTURE
- the most important thing to consider is the material.
- The materials available for sculpture are limitless.
 Stone
- Stone is the hard and brittle substance formed from
mineral and earth material.
- The finished product is granular and dull in
appearance.
- Stones are normally used for gravestones in
cemeteries.
- Stones include sandstone, granite, basalt, marble,
andlimestone.
 Granite
- granular igneous rock composed of feldspar and
quartz, usually combined with other minerals.
- This medium is quite difficult to chisel.
- It is good for large works with only few designs. The
Egyptian sculptures of Pharaohs were mostly done in
granite.
 Marble
is limestone in a more or less crystalline state sufficiently
close in texture, and capable of taking a high polish. It
occurs in many varieties.
- Brecciated Marble- is composed of angular
fragments.
- Serpentine Marble- is prized for its variegated
patterns and is often used in large flat planes.
- Marble is easier to carve than granite because it is
relatively softer.
- Sculptors have used marble for detailed carving of
figures.

 Sandstone
- relatively soft, making it easy to work on.
•Basalt is hard and black.
•Limestone has a fine and even texture. Its color ranges
from light cream to buff, and from light gray to a darker,
bluish gray. It works very well for carving.
 Jade
usually colored green, and used widely in Ancient China.
- It is highly esteemed as an ornamental stone for
fashion jewelry.
- Today, it is made into women’s fashion accessories
because it carries certain social significance.
- It is believed to symbolize virtues such as faithfulness,
wisdom, and charity.
 Ivory
- which comes from the main parts of tusks of elephants,
is the hard white substance used to make carvings and
billiard balls.
- In the home of some well-to-do families in the
Philippines, faces and hands of images of saints are
made of ivory.
- The bodies are made of carved and painted wood.
 Metals
- include any of a class of elementary substances such
as gold, silver, or copper, all of which are crystalline
when solid and many which are characterized by
capacity, ductility, conductivity, and peculiar luster when
freshly fractured.
- Being ductile, metals can be transformed into fine
wires or threads.
- They can be shaped or deformed under great pressure
without breaking.
- Traditionally, the metals used as mediums for sculpture
are copper, brass, bronze, gold, silver, and lead.
Aluminum is a recent addition to the list.
 Bronze
- one of the oldest alloys of metal composed chiefly of
copper and tin with color.
- It is one of the most popular
-Bronze as a material is strong, durable, and resistant to
any atmospheric corrosion.
- It is best suited for sculptures in open or outdoor
places like parks and plazas as well as for large-scale
modeling.
- Polishing will give the bronze sculpture a shiny finish.
 Brass
- An alloy of copper and zinc, is not popularly used by
contemporary artists because of its limitations as a
medium. It has many practical uses, as brass does not
rust and takes a brilliant polish.
 Copper
- is used as a costing medium.
- basically shaped by hammering and fashioned into
relief forms.
- One characteristic of this medium is the resistance to
atmospheric corrosion.
 Gold and Silver
- casting materials for small objects like medals, coins,
and pieces of jewelry.
- Because they are quite expensive, they are used either
for personal accessories or for religious adornments.
 Lead
- bluish-gray metal, is used for casting.
- It is a flexible and permanent material. With the help of
a welding torch iron, it can be worked into a variety of
unique and exciting forms.
 Plaster
- Plaster is composed of lime, sand, and water.
- It is worked on an armature of metal wires and rods in
addition to various materials and fibers.
- It is applied on walls and ceilings and allowed to
harden and dry.
- The medium is used extensively in making manikins,
models, molds, architectural decoration, and other
indoor sculpture.
 Clay
- natural earthly material that is plastic when wet.
- It consists essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminum
and is used for making bricks and ceramics.
- generally fragile so it becomes necessary to cast it in
another durable material.
- The surface of the finished product made of clay may
be painted or glazed.
- Earthware, commonly referred to as terra cotta or
“baked earth”, is cheap compared with stone or bronze.
- Brilliant cloves are made possible by glazing.
- Like all pottery, terra cotta is easily broken.
- As a medium for sculptor, it has been used during the
early times.
Most oriental sculpture come in the form f terra cotta.
 Glass
hard, brittle, non-crystalline, more or less transparent
substances produced by fusion, usually consisting of
mutually dissolved silica and silicates and contains soda
and lime. It can be molded in various colors and shapes.
It is used to make beautiful but fragile figurines.
 Wood
- is easier to carve than any other mediums available
because it can be subjected into a variety of treatment.
- It is lighter and softer to carve despite having greater
tensile strength than stone; hence, it can be used in long
pieces without breaking.
- The character of the grain and the color of the wood
are the most important qualities that the sculptor
considers in choosing what kind of wood he will use.
- Wood should be treated to preserve its quality.
- Common wood used for sculpture are dapdap, white
lauan, oak, walnut, mahogany, narra, and dao. They are
selected for aesthetic purposes and permanence.